dropping the bike

[2wheelsforme]

I'm not too proud to admit my bike has been over more than a couple of times. Twice while on the big trip out West. Granted the bike was top heavy with two bags of luggage on the seat and rack. Once it went over easy on kick stand side and don't even know how I did it. The other time on unlevel ground and not enough lean on stand I was tugging on the luggage with it starting rain and pulled the bike over on the right side. It went so hard it was all I could do to keep it from rolling up past the crash bars and doing some real damage. Top heavy sucks! But the crash bars are very effective in protecting the bike, all four are now scratched a little on the underside so sanding and painting anyway. Not damaged anywhere else. I have to give to Honda for providing so much protection with well designed front and rear guards. Practicing a lift alone is a good thing to be prepared for, the extra high weight made it very difficult by myself. Be ready it can happen at the blink of an eye.

[Ewreck]

S..T Happens. Always.

[Sorcerer]

And when lifting from the right remember to deploy the kickstand.:rolleyes:

[53driver]

+1 on the engineering for the crash guards and the protection they provide.
Isleen has gone 'boink' a few times too.
But as 2wheels wrote - some sanding & paint and it's all good.

Cheers,
Steve

[Az Wingrider]

Dropping the bike has happened to a lot of us. When you know the proper way to pick it up it usually more of an embarrassment than anything else. You just have to know to cycle the kill switch before it will restart. Once on a camping trip the bike was so heavily loaded with camping gear I had to unload it before I could pick it up. The only damage was scratching to the bottom of the crash bars. As 2wheelsforme said Honda did a great job of designing the crash bars.

[Cali261]

I keep a Velcro strap in the cubby to put over the front brake lever for when that eventually happens to me. My thinking is it will keep it from rolling if I can’t access the shifter. My slow twitch muscles are more developed than my fast twitch muscles nowadays so it’s bound to happen...

[Joflewbyu2]

Just stick it n the center stand. Easy enough and much more secure. I don’t understand why others have such difficulty. I am only 5’10” and 170 lbs and it comes up easy.

[opas ride]

So far, so good on my F6B and I hope it never happens...Dropped my Victory Vision a couple of times, once in a gravel lot, and another on the side of rode while stopped..Victory was noted for its great tip-over protection crash bars that showed them actually pushing the bike over on purpose to show how it would land on angled stops to prevent damage...Never got a scratch from tipping mine over...As said above, the real damage was to my "ego" as on-lookers stared at me...Thankful for the video I saw a few years back that demonstrated how to use your back instead of your legs to lift up the bike and get in on the side stand....Worked with the help of some nice Mexican guys that happened by,(none of which spoke English) but could see I was in trouble...Easy for younger guys, but not so much when you are in your 70's....Regards and ride safe

[xgringo]

Get a Motobike jack. The inventor is a Harley guy but it's as though he invented it for the f6b. Just place that hook on the rear tip over bar and in maybe ten cranks and she is up.

I can easily lift the b on level ground, but I had an experience where she went down on an incline in soft dirt. Thanks to the Harley rider who saw me behind the trees on the roadside. Thanks again Phil!!

Thanks to the Jap love of side opening cases I carry two, one in each case at all times.

http://www.motobikejack.com/video.html

[oldxtreme]

Glad to see I am not the only dropper! Had mine a week and dropped it in my driveway. Slight decline, facing down hill and out of gear...Learned not to do that again. The bike rolled off the side stand and I of course tried to keep it from going over! Well, it did what it wanted to do and trapped my leg under the bike with the passenger peg sticking through my heel. No one around so the only thing left to do was either lay there or pull like hell until I pulled my heel off and my leg out! Good news NO SCRATCHES on the bike but 47 stitched to reattach my foot!

Lessons learned... 1. If it decides to go down, it will go down...get out of the way!
2. Put the bike in 1st gear and roll it forward until the gear play is taken up.
3. Never park facing down slop or a right handed lean.

One other time this summer, when completing my 8,000 mile road trip, I pulled out of a parking lot, going too slow and was making a right hand turn when the front wheel just wanted to keep going right. Not enough forward motion to overcome the wheel from going too far and the bike laid down in the middle of the street!

No leg to try to stop it this time but no scratches either! Outstanding design on the crash bars...both sides!

Lesson learned...don't make slooow, 90 degree turns!

I am acutely aware of where to park, the angles of the ground and if I can pull forward or have to back peddle it!

I am getting off a VTX 1800 and never laid it down once while parking or turning after 80,000 miles.
great bike! It must have a lower center of gravity. It does have a shorter side stand so the lean is probably 30 degrees. It is a little tougher to get up right if it is parked on a left handed slope...but it does not fall over!

[f6byellow]

I thought i had the kick stand down when i was backing out of the garage and leaned it left to get off but it went slowly down thank god for crash bars had all i could do too pick it up man heavy bike lessen learned always look down on left side

[wjduke]

I dropped mine several times. Always in front of others, total embarrassment.

[DaWadd]

Parking lot, front wheel cranked for sharp turn, grabbed a handful of front brake and down she went in very slow motion. No damage except my ego.

[JGF6B]

I tested my crash bars in my work parking lot. I like to back out of the parking space, then take off while leaning hard left. This does not work well when you leave the bike in neutral. Amazingly, nobody claimed to have seen it.

[tenxxx]

I am very clumsy in slow creeping turns and parking lots. Have come close a few times but no dropsy yet.
Have to make 3 point turns to get out of my garage. Floor is too rough for a cart of any kind.
Suppose its only a matter of time.

[Cali261]

Dropped my baby for the first time today. Lazy shift on my part. Came out of gear as I accelerated and leaned into a turn leaving my house. Fortunately my son was home and helped me pick it up. I’m pretty sure I could have picked it up on my own with the rush of adrenaline and embarrassment. My neighbors drove by and had a good laugh. They did not help, but had a good laugh. First time with the “B”, and about 15 years since my last drop. Luckily no damage to the bike, just to my ego. (I did use the Velcro strap over the brake, and it went up easy).

[grendl]

Well,I'm not happy to hear that I'm not the only one but thought I was. I had already seen the videos on how to lift it but find that with RA affecting my elbows I still cannot pick it up alone. Pretty embarrassing for sure. Checked out the jack above and since most of my miles are solo may have to look into that. A little pricey but probably worth it ..I've had to let mine fall about three times in 5 years - one sand unexpected stop foot slipped ,one gravel again unexpected and this last time downslope panic stop and down she went ARRGGGHH !. thinking I may be getting too old to ride but not about to give it up. A jack might be the answer ! Thanx for the tip !

[billsim]

Get a Motobike jack. The inventor is a Harley guy but it's as though he invented it for the f6b. Just place that hook on the rear tip over bar and in maybe ten cranks and she is up.

I can easily lift the b on level ground, but I had an experience where she went down on an incline in soft dirt. Thanks to the Harley rider who saw me behind the trees on the roadside. Thanks again Phil!!

Thanks to the Jap love of side opening cases I carry two, one in each case at all times.

http://www.motobikejack.com/video.html

Kind of steep at $216.00 plus S&H...................

[TerryDavid]

The trouble is the bike when on a side stand is too straight up
It has no lean
If you lean on it when on its side stand the bike will fall over
Happened to me a few times when I was polishing it
Simple Fix
Get a washer or two and put them on the bottom? I think under your side stand mount
That way it will lean further and not a problem
Also great when the road has a camber and you park the bike:cool:

[jmdaniel]

The trouble is the bike when on a side stand is too straight up
It has no lean
If you lean on it when on its side stand the bike will fall over
Happened to me a few times when I was polishing it
Simple Fix
Get a washer or two and put them on the bottom? I think under your side stand mount
That way it will lean further and not a problem
Also great when the road has a camber and you park the bike:cool:

How would adding washers anywhere on the sidestand make it lean more, not less?

[tenxxx]

""The trouble is the bike when on a side stand is too straight up It has no lean""

If mine leans over any more it would be very hard to get it up off the side stand.
Yours must have been lowered.
You would have to have a shorter side stand if it stands up too much.

[xgringo]

""The trouble is the bike when on a side stand is too straight up It has no lean""

.

I think it has to do with the rear shock setting.

[F6Bster]

The trouble is the bike when on a side stand is too straight up
It has no lean....

I am always careful where I park my bike on the side stand as I really like to have a good lean. If it sits more vertical it is too easy for it to fall over. So, I usually park on a perfectly flat surface or one that slopes down. Especially if it is windy!!!

The point about the pre-load is a good thought. I have mine at about 17 clicks.

My old Valk really, really leaned and that was great by me. Took a little effort if on a slope but it would never lift off that side stand without help!

[2wheelsforme]

If you don't have some good lean and your tire leaks down while away from the bike it will tip over while all alone. My shock it at the firmest, does that really raise the bike?

[TerryDavid]

You add the washers under the mounting bracket for the side stand
I brought a wedge which fitted under it

[jmdaniel]

You add the washers under the mounting bracket for the side stand
I brought a wedge which fitted under it

Doesn't that make the side stand, in effect, stick out further, making the bike even more vertical?

[rdbonds]

I have not dropped mine YET, but I have intentionally flopped it over a few times for rear tire changes. :)